Botanical name: Roscoea alpina    Family: Zingiberaceae (Ginger family)

Dwarf Kakoli Ginger is among the most common wild flowers of the north Indian hills and grows best during the rainy season at altitudes of about 2500-4000 m. Roscoea is a small genus named in honour of William Roscoe, who was the author of a work dealing with these plants of the Himalayas. Dwarf Kakoli Ginger grows about 20 cm high and has oblong or linear leaves 6-10 cm long. Sometimes the plant flowers without leaves, which come out later, giving the leafless bloom the look of an orchid. The flower is of a deep purple colour, though sometimes white ones are also seen. It has an interesting appearance with its upper petals arching in a helmet-like structure, and the modified stamen forming a large petal-like lip. A closely related, much taller species Kakoli Ginger, with much larger flowers, grows in the Uttarakhand hills and further east and has roots that are used in veterinary medicine.

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The flower labeled Dwarf Kakoli Ginger is ...